


My Blood

by Ave Estrella (Averli)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Best Friends, Character Death In Dream, Gen, M/M, Major Character Injury, Omnic Crisis, Other, Overwatch SEP, Short Story, Soldier Enhancement Program, War, bff, morreyeson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averli/pseuds/Ave%20Estrella
Summary: Gabriel is injured and Jack takes a risk to save him. Set in their army days/SEP.
Relationships: Ana Amari & Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Kudos: 28





	My Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the songs this short story was heavily inspired by/ones I listened to while writing. I greatly recommend giving them a listen, possibly while reading (though my story is rather short, rip).
> 
> Story playlist: My Blood on Spotify
> 
> My Blood - Twenty One Pilots  
> Pendulum - A Skylit Drive  
> Stay With Me - Thrice  
> Before the Bombs - Death Cab for Cutie  
> Somebody To Die For - Hurts  
> Brother - Kodaline
> 
> Honorable mentions:
> 
> King And Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men  
> Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
> No Matter What They Say - Svrcina
> 
> I did research on army stuff and info related to the injury Gabriel receives in this story, but probably still messed something up. Apologies if so!
> 
> I'm no pro writer, please excuse my mistakes in format, grammar, etc. :x

**_Proteger_ **

⚜

_"Second Unit, fall back!"_ Gabriel's commanding officer spoke over the comms.

"Fall back, men! That's an order!" Gabriel barked. "Make for the library!"

Gabriel's troop backed up steadily through the dust and rubble, following his commands.

A shot whizzed past Gabriel and he turned slightly to take out the Omnic. As he turned he saw an eradicator closing the distance to shoot at Jack and a few more retreating soldiers, who were busy fighting an onslaught as they withdrew. Gabriel shot but there was just a click. His guns were empty. He threw them down, frustrated, and shouted at Jack. "Watch it, Morrison!" The eradicator turned its attention to Gabriel. Gabriel began backing away towards an alley behind him where he could duck out of sight.

Jack turned at the commotion and when he saw the situation, raised his voice to distract the Omnic to look back at him. It fired and turned to Jack at the same moment he shouted, causing half of the shot to miss Gabriel, who stumbled back into the alley and fell against a brick wall.

The other soldiers with Jack had paused, horrified. Jack turned to them. "Continue to the library, I've got him!" The troops nodded and covered Jack as he made his way around crumbling concrete to the alley. He crouched behind a large slab of upturned pavement and shot the eradicator from a safe distance. It emitted snarly powering-down beeps and clanked to the ground, where it fell to pieces in a small explosion. Jack watched for a short moment to be sure it was dealt with, then jumped up and ran to his friend.

Gabriel was leaning against the rough brick wall on one side of the alley. Jack knelt beside him, going into field medic mode. He was being trained for it so he knew some tips. "Gabriel, it's Jack."

The commander groaned and took a halting breath. "Jack-" He began coughing. "Y-you idiot."

Jack checked him over, though he had immediately seen the large wound bleeding profusely on the left side of his chest. He pulled out his handkerchief and held it gently to the bloody area. He had probably lost more than a pint of blood already. Not extremely dangerous yet, but at this rate he'd lose another in about 8 minutes. Jack took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "How am I the idiot? You just got yourself blasted by a robot, and it's partly of your own doing."

Gabriel chuckled lightly. "Gotta watch out for you." He shrugged but froze when it hurt to move his shoulder.

Jack held the kerchief in place with his right hand and called for aid on the communicator with his left. "Commander Reyes is injured. OEM codes 959.2, E995. Deep wound to the left chest and shoulder area. One pint of blood loss already at a steady rate." He gave them their coordinates, then looked around. The rest of the unit had withdrawn as commanded. He looked down at Gabriel. "Do you think you could make it to the library?" They were behind cover for now, but some Omnics would likely find them before long.

Gabriel breathed haltingly. "I don't know. It hurts to move much."

Jack gritted his teeth. Gabriel was losing a lot of blood. He held the cloth tighter to the wound. "Damn it, Gabe."

Gabriel smiled faintly and put his right hand on Jack's shoulder. "Thank you."

His hand fell and Jack shook him slightly in panic. "No no, stay awake!" Gabriel could barely keep his eyes open. He was going to pass out from shock related to loss of blood. "Gabe!"

Gabriel jolted and opened his eyes. "Y-yes?" Everything was blurry. He could barely see and hear Jack.

"Can you keep your eyes open for me, Reyes? I need you to focus on me." Jack fell back into field medic mode.

Gabriel blinked repeatedly but kept his eyes on Jack, who spoke soothingly. "Just a few more minutes, help is coming."

Before long Gabriel heard some people run up, but he didn't have the strength to keep his eyes open anymore. He faintly heard Jack calling his name.

"Gabe. Gabriel!"

Then it faded away.  
  
-  
  
Gabriel woke to blinding white walls. He squinted and closed his eyes again for a few moments. _Wait, where is Jack?_ He forced his eyes open again and looked around the small slightly dated hospital room but found no sign of him. He sat up quickly in a panic but froze when a sharp pain stabbed the left side of his chest. He put a hand over it and looked around in frustration. _Where were the doctors or nurses in this place?_  
  
-  
  
 _"Blood loss one and two-third pints. Blood pressure dropping steadily."_

_Jack squeezed his hands together nervously as the medics checked Gabriel over. He caught glimpses here and there of Gabriel's pale grey-ish skin and bloody chest in between white coats swishing in front of his view._

_Gabriel's troops had been recalled to protect the medics while they evacuated him._

_"Sir, what is your relation to the patient?"_

_Jack blinked and tried to focus on the calm nurse in front of him._

_"A fellow soldier, and I-I'm his best friend."_

_The nurse nodded sympathetically. "You may accompany him." She paused, considering something, then softly spoke words that hung in the air after she left. "We're taking him to the nearest medical facility, but it will take some time, and unfortunately it has no blood bank as of yet. Even if we found a donor there are procedures..." She sighed. "I'm very sorry, but it doesn't look good. He'll need someone with him near the end."_

_Jack stared, numb. No, she was wrong. This wasn't the end. He watched as they rolled the stretcher into the helicopter. **But what if...?**_

_"Sir, this way."_

_A young man with a now-soiled white coat motioned for Jack to follow him onto the helicopter._

_Jack barely glanced at the man, but followed him quickly into the vehicle. His eyes found Gabriel instantly and he sat quietly near the stretcher, reached for his hand, and began gently rubbing it as he spoke reassuringly. "I'm here, Gabriel. You're gonna be fine."_

_This was not the end. The nurse was wrong._  
  
-  
  
Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows, faintly remembering being taken on a helicopter. He remembered Jack repeating positive things to him on the flight. Where was Jack now? He must've been so worried.  
Arriving at the field hospital was a blur. He knew there were doctors and nurses all around him, calling out numbers and his vitals and moment-by-moment condition.  
  
-  
  
 _"We can't sustain him, he needs blood." One of three medics surrounding Gabriel spoke urgently to the doctor, Sean Elliot. "Is there anyone here or in his troop with compatible blood and willing to donate? If the blood is at least compatible we'll have to take that chance. It's the only chance to save him."_

_Jack was standing as close as they would allow. He turned to the doctor. "Use my blood. It’s O Negative. How much does he need?"_

_Dr Elliot looked at the screen with Gabriel's vitals and information on it and sighed, but spoke quickly. "Two and a half pints should be enough to stabilize him until his body can make more. But it's dangerous for a donor to give that much at once. One pint is the highest blood drive amount allowed."_

_Jack set his jaw. "This isn't a blood drive. This is my best friend dying. I'll do it._

_"Are you sure about this, Morrison?"_

_Jack nodded firmly. "Yes."_

_Dr. Elliot motioned for him to follow him out of the room, studying him as they stood in the hall for a moment. "This is nearly three pints of blood, people can die when they lose any more than four."_

_Jack sighed in impatience, but retained his resilience. "I know, that's why I have to do it." He looked through the small window in the door to his best friend lying there, his normally almond skin a deathly pale grey, contrasting with the stark white hospital bed._

_The doctor watched him and smiled slightly. Gabriel was so lucky to have someone like this._

_"Follow me, sir."_  
  
-  
  


_"Blood loss three pints. Blood pressure low and falling. He'll enter cardiac arrest in upwards of 8 minutes."_

_Dr. Elliot rushed into the room. "He has donation blood. Ready things for a transfusion."_

_"Sir?" The nurse, Esther, turned. "How? There's no blood bank, and there aren't many soldiers with a compatible blood type in this army, much less nearby on short notice."_

_"Yeah, well one of those few happens to be his best friend and fellow soldier, the one who called in his injury. Jack Morrison. He insisted on this." He glanced at Gabriel as the nurse hurriedly prepared things. "He's saving his life."_

_"How is he feeling, the one donating?" She knew giving nearly three pints of blood at once was a dangerous thing._

_Dr. Elliot smiled. "Very willing. He told me to tell Reyes he was an idiot and to not worry about him, he has to watch out for him."_

_Esther raised her eyebrows at the idiot part. "Inside joke I'm assuming." She turned to the doctor. "Everything is ready."_

_He nodded. "Instruct Aaron to keep Morrison comfortable. He's in much better shape than Reyes, but still needs to be monitored."_

_Esther bowed slightly and left the room as another assistant stepped up to help Dr. Elliot with the transfusion._

  
-  
  
Gabriel sighed and looked out the window at the rapidly darkening sky. There were damaged buildings all around. He figured this must be an old hospital partially restored and staffed for the war. He leaned back, prepared to wait for a while for someone to come and answer his many questions. Where is Jack? What exactly happened? How long has he been here? What day is it?

But he didn't have to wait long.

"How are you feeling Reyes?" A nurse entered the room and smiled at him as she checked his vitals on a screen nearby. "I'm your nurse, Esther."

"I'm alright. My shoulder feels like it's been stabbed multiple times, but otherwise I feel normal."

"Oh, here's some medication for that. It should ease the pain a lot while it heals." She gave him two white pills and a cup of water from the tray she brought in and he downed them. "You sustained major bleeding, sir. It's nearly a miracle you're alive, and feeling so well such a short time after the transfusion. Your best friend saved your life."

Gabriel stared at her, remembering Jack helping him out in the field and on the way to the facility. He must have donated blood. His questions suddenly came back. "Where's Jack? What transfusion? Did he donate? How long has it been? What exactly happened?"

Esther put her hands up calmly. "Woah, slow down. Yes, Jack Morrison donated two and a half pints of blood." Gabriel nodded for her to go on, trying not to show that he was anxious. "He's stable. We had done all we could but couldn’t sustain you. He volunteered the moment we said you needed blood." She took the empty water cup and threw it away. "It was done four hours ago. You stabilized in around three and a half. You were brought here around four hours and ten minutes ago."

Gabriel looked relieved, grateful for her answers. He tried to sit up further. "That idiot gave two and a half pints of blood at once?" He was going to make Jack order meat for the next month.

"Yes sir. It was the only way. Oh and he requested that we tell you he said you're an idiot, don't worry about him, he has to watch out for you."

Gabriel laughed and leaned back against the pillows. "How long til I can start walking around?" He wanted to check on Jack himself.

"Dr. Elliot says you should be okay to tomorrow. And that you'll be released from here in three days at the most. The transfusion went well and you have had no reactions to the blood. The only thing we're waiting for is your shoulder and chest to heal." She smiled at him and turned as Dr. Elliot entered the room,l.

"How are you, Reyes?"

Gabriel moved his left shoulder slightly. "Other than my shoulder I feel great." He looked out the window again, wondering how the war was going. "Any news of the war?"

Esther left the room to tend to others and Dr. Elliot checked the screens with Gabriel's vitals listed. "Yes, your troop held the library and fought off a few waves of bots, then made it safely back to the base." He nodded at the screen, satisfied, and turned to Gabriel. "They've been asking about you. I told them you pulled through thanks to a blood transfusion by Morrison and will be back commanding them in around four days."

Gabriel nodded in appreciation. "Thanks for letting them know."

The doctor smiled. "No problem. Now, I need to check on your wound."

Gabriel sat up as Dr. Elliot gently inspected and cleaned the injury and applied more healing accelerant. "This injury was very near your heart, Reyes. Any bit more over and..." He shook his head. "Someone's looking out for you."

Gabriel glanced down at the rapidly healing puncture and remembered Jack distracting the eradicator. He leaned his head back. At every other turn they seemed to be saving each other's lives. "I know."

"Oh, you may see Morrison tomorrow. Don't worry, he's fine." The doctor stood to leave the room. "Get some rest, it's late."

Gabriel nodded and laid back as he looked out the window at the bright waxing full moon and sparse stars until he fell asleep.  
  
-  
  
 _~Jack lifted his head as Dr. Elliot emerged from Gabriel's room. He shook his head and put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry, we did all we could but he won't ma-"~_

_~"No!" Jack stood and brushed past the doctor and into the room. But it didn't matter, he could see Elliot was right.~_

_~Gabriel was so still, his skin nearly the same pale grey as his uniform.~_

_~The room became blurry and Jack blinked quickly to rid his eyes of tears, but this only reminded him of the last time he saw Gabriel's eyes, when he was fighting to stay awake.~_

_~He wanted to punch something, but at the same time he wanted to hug and be hugged by someone and be told everything is alright.~_

_~But he couldn't, it wasn't, and it never would be again.~_

_~He sat gently on the edge of the bed and touched Gabriel's hand. It was barely warm.~_

_~Jack gritted his teeth and blinked away more tears as he stared at Gabriel's pale face. This wasn't supposed to happen. Gabriel was only 25, he had a great future ahead of him. He was an exceptional soldier and one of the most amazing people Jack had ever met. And he couldn’t imagine the rest of his life without him.~_  
  
Jack opened his eyes suddenly and sat up in a panic.

His nurse, Aaron, entered the room. "Sir? Do you need something?"

"Where is Gabriel? How is he?"

"He's much better." Aaron said reassuringly. "He's in room 12 down the hall."

Jack sighed audibly in relief. "May I visit him?"

Aaron looked unsure. "You had better wait for Dr. Elliot to give you the okay first." At seeing Jack's downcast look, he added, "I can request he come do that, if you like."

Jack nodded. "Thank you, that would be great." He leaned back and looked out the window at the sunrise after the nurse left the room. _It was just a dream. Gabriel is fine._  
  
-  
  
"Dr. Elliot, Aaron says Morrison is asking to see Reyes." Esther relayed the message to the doctor.

He chuckled lightly in amusement. "These guys..." He shook his head. "I guess I should put them in the same room." He was walking down the hall to Jack's room, Esther following. "I think I'll do that. Reyes will only have to stay here about a day, maybe two, Morrison fewer than that."

Jack looked up as they entered the room. Dr. Elliot could read the question on his face.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

Jack shrugged. "Normal."

Dr. Elliot checked his vitals and blood status. "You're getting back on track. If anything you may feel a bit dizzy if you move too fast, so be slow."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "...Does that mean I can go see Reyes?"

"Yes, I'm moving you to his room since it’s larger. You two keep asking about each other."

Jack looked down meekly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine." Dr. Elliot assured him. "Don't be sorry for caring. Follow me. We'll move the bed later."

Esther stayed to prepare for the move. Jack followed him out of the room and down the hall to Gabriel's, being careful not to move too quickly. He was eager to see how he was. The last time he saw Gabriel was right before he gave blood, so he should be a lot better now.

Dr. Elliot motioned for Jack to enter the room. "Go on in, he's been wanting to see you. I'll go arrange your relocation to here."

He was gone in a moment, leaving Jack alone outside the door. Jack took a breath and walked in, pushing the bad dream from his mind.

But it was much different than in his dream. The sun was streaming in through the windows cheerily and Gabriel was sitting up awake in bed, his skin its usual rich color.

Jack smiled in relief. "Gabriel."

His best friend's face lit up. "Jack!"

Jack rushed to him and engulfed him in a hug, careful not to bother his wound. "I was so worried."

Gabriel returned his embrace. "Back at you. What were you thinking giving nearly three pints of blood at once?"

Jack pulled back and sat on the edge of the bed, feeling slightly dizzy from moving so quickly. "What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't let you die of blood loss when I had compatible blood."

Gabriel conceded, knowing he would have done the same. "Well, I'm gonna make you eat burgers for a month to get back that iron."

Jack laughed. "You won't have to make me." He glanced at Gabriel's shoulder. "How's your wound?"

Gabriel shrugged slightly. "Better. Doesn't hurt much and nearly looks like a scar now. How are you feeling?" He looked him over. "I can't tell, you're so pale anyway."

Jack rolled his eyes and whacked Gabriel's good arm gently. "I feel pretty normal."

Gabriel squinted at him. "You sure?"

"Mostly. I may feel a bit light-headed." He smirked as he realized the double-meaning.

Gabriel shook his head and rolled his eyes, but it was good to hear Jack joking around. "Find you a burger. It won't darken your hair but it should help you get iron back faster."

"I don't want darker hair, it looks better on you." He ruffled Gabriel's wavy brown hair as he stood up. "They're supposed to be moving me to this room with you. Doc said we kept asking about each other and I guess they got tired of relaying messages." He chuckled.

"That'll be good." Gabriel moved his shoulder carefully. "My shoulder's feeling better." He sighed. "I'm tired of lying around."

Jack looked out the window at the ruined streets, then back to his best friend. "It's only been a day. You lost a lot of blood, Gabe, take it easy."

"I'm fine now. I just want out of here."

Jack knew how he felt.

"They act like I can't walk." He huffed. "I injured my shoulder, I didn't break my legs. Don't they know that?"

Jack tried to keep back a smile and chuckle but he couldn't.

Gabriel eyed him and huffed again. "You're rubbing off on me. You're supposed to be the talker."

Jack gave a full laugh this time. "We switched. I was quiet in there in my room."

"Well, you're here for me to talk to. I guess you could've talked to yourself in there though, if no one would find you and think you're crazy. Though I guess this is a good place to be if you go crazy..."

Jack shook his head. "You really need to walk around."

"Wait," Gabriel realized something. "Dr. Elliot said yesterday I could be up moving the next day. That's today."

"Are you sure you shouldn't ask him again, to be sure?" Jack looked wary.

Gabriel nearly rolled his eyes but stopped. Jack was just worried about him. "It's alright, Jack." He sat on the edge of the bed and stretched. "My shoulder feels nearly back to normal."

Jack watched him as he rolled his shoulders. He stepped in front of Gabriel and put a hand on his injured shoulder gently.

"Let me see."

Gabriel looked up at him skeptically as he softly rubbed his shoulder.

"Yep, feels alright to me."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and stood up. They were less than a foot apart, his eyes level with Jack's. He looked from one to the other of his blue eyes.

"Jack." Gabriel shook his head. "That was such a dad joke, and you're only 22."

Jack smirked. "Guess I'm getting started early."

Gabriel chuckled, then looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments. Jack was the closest friend he’d ever had, and one of few he was sure he couldn’t live without. He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder somberly. “Thank you... for, well, saving my life.”

Jack smiled sincerely. “Gabriel, there will never be a time I wouldn’t.”

Gabriel shrugged. “And for just putting up with me.”

Jack embraced him tightly.

A few moments later, there was a faint knock on the door, then a familiar young woman entered. It was their close friend and fellow soldier Ana Amari. She had been in another location when Gabriel was injured. She rushed over to them, hugging them both at the same time.

"Are you two okay?" She backed up to look at them.

Gabriel nodded. "Yep. Doc says I can leave tomorrow or the next day."

Ana looked at the other man. "What about you, Jack?"

"I'm fine. He's the one who was injured. I just had to stay in a room for a night and be monitored because I gave a lot of blood."

Ana put her hands on her hips. "To Gabriel? How much?"

"Uh," Jack glanced at Gabriel and looked down, avoiding Ana's gaze. "Two and a half pints?"

Ana threw her hands up. "One of you is going to be the death of the other!"

Jack shrugged and put an arm around his best friend. "Then that's how I wanna go."

"Hey hold up now Ana," Gabriel interjected jokingly. "You saying I'm not worth saving?"

Ana gave him a look. "Yes, of course you are. I'd have done the same if my blood was compatible."

Gabriel nodded. "And I'd do it for either of you."

"It's settled then." Jack looked between them. "We'd give blood and if need be, die for each other."

"I nearly have a few times for you, Jack." Gabriel pointed out. "Especially in Texas last year."

"Now, that time in Texas doesn't exactly count."

Gabriel tilted his head at him. "Oh?"

"I wasn't in the line of fire, the bots were retreating." Jack explained.

Ana sighed in slight amusement as they began mildly arguing. She decided to slip from the room for a few moments to talk to the hospital staff about when they would be released, leaving Jack and Gabriel to work it out.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. "You call five eradicators focusing you, them _retreating?_ "

"They had stopped focusing me; then they turned to you-"

"-because I jumped out suddenly." Gabriel nodded, recalling. "You're right."

Jack nodded, then looked down. "To protect me though..." He had always felt terrible that Gabriel had gotten wounded so badly on that mission. And he felt the same way in this situation.

Gabriel realized that now. He sighed. "Jack, don't carry the weight of the injuries I receive when helping you out. I protect you when I can because you're my brother in arms and best friend, and because I want to."

Jack looked from one to the other of his chocolate brown eyes. Gabriel rarely spoke so openly about how he felt for his friends. He and Jack especially had a strong bond, and this only became more apparent as time went by.

Gabriel continued. "In fact, if I could choose how I die that'd be it."

Jack hugged him, tighter than before. "Thank you. For always being there. For everything."

"Hold up, I'm not dying right now." Gabriel joked, but he returned the embrace as tightly as Jack. It was a non-verbal _you're welcome._

"You'd better not." Jack said, slightly muffled. "I don't know if I could make it without you."

"I'll do my best to make sure you never have to."

  


⚜

**Author's Note:**

> In canon, Jack's blood type is either O Positive or O Negative (taken from his [blurry] dog tags on his Commando and Night Ops skins). Gabriel's is AB Negative. If Jack's is O Positive, he can't donate to Gabriel, if it's O Negative he can. So it's O Negative in this story. :)


End file.
